Court releases Ingush activist Khasan Katsiev

Today, the Supreme Court (SC) of the Stavropol Territory has upheld the verdict to Khasan Katsiev, a participant of clashes between protestors and law enforcers in Magas. Meanwhile, the court pronounced a decision to release Khasan Katsiev from the SIZO (pre-trial prison), because his sentence had expired.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 5, activist Khasan Katsiev was sentenced to one year and nine months in a penal settlement colony. The court found the defendant guilty of an attack on a fighter of the National Guard of Russia during a rally in Magas. Khasan Katsiev was under arrest since April 23, 2019.

Today, the Supreme Court of the Stavropol Territory has dismissed an appeal filed by Khasan Katsiev against his verdict, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports with reference to advocate Vitaly Zubenko. Despite the above, the court has pronounced a decision to immediately release Khasan Katsiev from custody, because his sentence, taking into account his earlier arrest, had already expired.

Let us remind you that participants of an unsanctioned rally in Magas, who protested against the border agreement with Chechnya on March 26, 2019, did not leave the place after the end of the rally. On the other day, during the dispersal of the activists, clashes occurred between the protestors and the law enforcers. In April 2019, mass arrests of the activists began in the republic. According to the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot", at least 29 of the activists were involved in criminal cases as defendants.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 13, 2020 at 03:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.